Mueller Expands Probe Into Trump Business Transactions: Dollar Tumbles, Stocks Slammed

It was quiet, too quiet. Markets were comfortably drifting ever higher (10th day up in a row for Nasdaq) and then headlines hit on Bloomberg reporting that special counsel Robert Mueller wil be probing Trump"s business transactions and will extend his investigation to examining the dealings of Kushner and Manafort.

It is likely that such a wide-angle approach to the probe could trigger a response from the president who last night told the NYT in an interview that any digging into matters beyond Russia "would be out of bounds." Bloomberg also notes that agents are interested in transactions involving the Bank of Cyprus, where Wilbur Ross served as vice chairman before he became the Commerce Sec., as well as the efforts of Jared Kushner to secure financing for some of his family’s real estate properties.

In short, Trump is about to respond, perhaps violently.

More from Bloomberg:

The U.S. special counsel investigating possible ties between the Donald Trump campaign and Russia in last year’s election is examining a broad range of transactions involving Trump’s businesses as well as those of his associates, according to a person familiar with the probe.

FBI investigators and others are looking at Russian purchases of apartments in Trump buildings, Trump’s involvement in a controversial SoHo development with Russian associates, the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow and Trump’s sale of a Florida mansion to a Russian oligarch in 2008, the person said.

Agents are also interested in dealings with the Bank of Cyprus, where Wilbur Ross served as vice chairman before he became commerce secretary, as well as the efforts of Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law and White House aide, to secure financing for some of his family’s real estate properties. The information was provided by someone familiar with the developing inquiry but not authorized to speak publicly.

The roots of Mueller’s follow-the-money investigation lie in a wide-ranging money laundering probe launched by then-Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara last year, according to the person.

As goes USDJPY, so goes the S&P 500...

Gold and VIX are higher...

These headlines follow reports overnight that Deutsche Bank (and other banks) will soon be receiving subpoenas from Mueller for details about Trump"s loans.

The president told the New York Times on Wednesday that any digging into matters beyond Russia would be out of bounds. We await the angry tweet response from the president.

Stop ‘Tearing Apart Families’: Congresswoman Introduces Act to Decriminalize Pot — Nationally

Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has urged Congress to federally decriminalize marijuana Tuesday, introducing a bipartisan act to to remove the drug from the federal controlled substances list.

“FBI reports have shown that in 2011 alone, an individual in the United States was arrested for marijuana use, sale or possession every 42 seconds,” Gabbard said in a statement.

The congresswoman introduced the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act (HR. 1227) with Republican Virginia Rep. Tom Garrett, calling on Congress to update its “outdated drug policies”.

The pair called on Congress to take into account the growing body of evidence that suggests the medicinal benefits of marijuana, from the treatment of epileptic seizures to reducing anxiety and “even halting the growth of cancer cells.”

The FDA currently classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 classification, along with MDMA and heroin.

“Mostly in poor and minority communities our current laws are turning everyday Americans into criminals, sending them to jail, ruining their lives, tearing apart families and wasting huge amounts of taxpayer dollars to arrest, prosecute and incarcerate people for marijuana use,” Gabbard’s statement said.

“The drug has been proven time and time again to be far less dangerous than alcohol, both for individual consumers as well as for the people around them,” she adds.

The Hawaii congresswoman said the current laws surrounding marijuana put a strain on the justice system, and detailed her recent visits to prisons in Hawaii where she saw “crumbling infrastructure, the extreme overcrowding and facilities in dire need of upgrades.”

Gabbard also highlighted the contradiction between federal law and those of individual states regarding marijuana, and how it has affected bankers and credit unions in Hawaii where marijuana is legalized but federal law prohibits them from dealing in financial transactions from marijuana.

“Our state-recognized and licensed medical marijuana dispensary owners, as well as their employees, can’t open a bank account, can’t get a loan from our local

banks,” she said. “The businesses have to literally hold thousands or even millions of dollars and conduct their transactions in cash.

“So whether you personally think that marijuana use is good or bad, whether you would choose to use marijuana or not, the question is, should we really be sending people to jail and turning them into criminals for it?”